


In the Universal Chords

by DoctorMerlinReid



Series: In the Life (When Running Blind) [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Flash (TV 2014), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Hurt/Comfort, One-Shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-25 23:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9851207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorMerlinReid/pseuds/DoctorMerlinReid
Summary: This is a series of one-shots that takes place after 'In the Light'.





	1. Letters

**Author's Note:**

> This is an on-going series of one-shots. I'll keep going as long as I keep getting suggestions for one-shots. Please feel free to drop a comment asking for a particular one-shot!

Prompt: Effects of Wally's 'death' on the people in the DCU

WWWWWW

Wally laid on his beanbag with Artemis curled up against his side, asleep. Brucely was resting his head on Wally's feet, his tail lazily thumping the ground. He was home, wrapped up in a blanket with two people he loved surrounding him, taking comfort in the room he'd grown up in – also finding joy in being able to see it. The redheaded speedster had come into the mansion to find it deserted. The Bat Clan was still at Antarctica, respecting his usual want of alone time with the one he loved after a particularly hard mission. Alfred had left a note in the kitchen saying that he had gone out to stock up on groceries in preparation for whenever their wayward speedster would come home. The old butler would probably be home soon and Wally couldn't wait. Well, maybe he could wait a little bit if he got to stay right where he was.

With one hand, he carded his fingers through his love's hair. With the other, Wally held a collection of letters. There was one for every month that he was gone. Apparently Artemis had started the little habit at the behest of Linda, who'd recommended it as a coping technique. Artemis had been planning on writing a letter every month he was gone for the first year, and then every other month until she learned to deal with his death. As it was, there were only seven letters – she'd learned that he was alive before getting a chance to write the eighth letter. Smiling down at his beautiful girl, Wally opened the first letter and started speed reading (he knew that he wouldn't have long-term retention of what he read, but he'd have plenty of time to read it again later).

Dear Wally,

It's been a month since the day you… Even in writing I can't say the word. It still hurts too much. I can't imagine that it will ever stop hurting this much, no matter what people say about time healing all wounds. The people who say that kind of stupid stuff haven't ever lost someone like I lost you. Anyways, I figure I should bring you up to speed (hehe, get it? Speed? Cuz you're a speedster? God, I'm turning into you) on what's going on. The Team got moved to the Watch Tower because Mount Justice was… well, you know. You were there for that. Dick gave control of the Team back to Kaldur and left the Team altogether. He said that he needed to take some time off to get himself back together. Kaldur tried to convince him to stay – we all did, but it didn't work. The whole Bat Clan split. Cass went to Hong Kong, Tim and Stephanie to Jump City, Damian and Colin to Bludhaven, Batman stayed in Gotham of course, Jason to cities all over the country, Dick to who knows where. He's just missing right now. He went to ground so completely that no one really knew where he was. He makes sure to send messages to Bruce so people would know he was okay, though.

I joined the Team again. Suddenly college didn't seem so important when you weren't there. I'm not Artemis, though. I joined the Team as Tigress. Artemis was your partner. She was completely yours and with you gone, I couldn't be her. I know that there are a lot of people who are disappointed with that decision – Mom, Jade, Barry, Kaldur, who knows who else – but I wasn't going to change my mind. With you gone… there are a lot of things that aren't the same with you gone.

Anyways, back to telling you about what's going on. I found the ring. The one you were going to use to propose to me. Dick told me that that's what it was. I mean, I figured, but still. It's nice to know for sure. That was one of the last things we talked about before he went off-grid. God, I'm going all over the place with this letter, aren't I? That lit teacher from my first year at college would be so disappointed. You remember her don't you? She was vicious. That one could just glare at villains and they'd stop their crimes right then and there and pack up and go home and call their mothers. That's what you always used to say about her. It always made me laugh so hard. Even just thinking about it now brings a smile to my lips. I think this is the first time I've smiled since you… yeah. I know you'd be disappointed. You'd have that silly little grin eyebrow raise mixture thing you did when you were trying to convey your disappointment to someone without making them offended. You'd roll your eyes and tell me that I should move on and find someone new, but I don't want to. You were the love of my life. You are the love of my life. I can't just give you up! I won't!

Curses! I'm crying again. I'd have thought that I'd be out of tears by this point. I've done nothing but cry. No one has. Barry and Iris have moved into the Garricks' place because you had stuff at their house. Bart moved to the Watch Tower. He's dating Jinx now, actually. He said that you were the one who convinced him to finally make a move on his feelings. That's just like you, too. Anyways, I'm living back with Mom because I can't stand to be in that house for very long. Every once in a while, I'll go back in there and pack up some of your stuff. I guess… I don't know. Packing it up just feels like I'm giving up on you. That's stupid, right? I mean, you're… you're… you aren't coming back, so there's no reason for me to keep your stuff out and reminding me of everything I've lost, but still… it's so hard! It's so much harder than I'd ever imagined. I mean, I know that we talked about this eventuality when we started dating because, even though we were stupid teenagers (or maybe because we were), we still knew that there was a good chance that this job would kill us and we needed to be prepared.

Being prepared doesn't help.

It just… it just makes me feel callous. It makes me feel like I don't care about you. I do! I do care about you! I could never tell you how much I care about you! Wow, I'm really bad at this whole staying on track thing. You should have seen how many people came for your funeral, Wally. Well, first of all, the media stayed away which was pretty impressive. You know how that group of vultures is. But there were so many people! Linda and John showed up and Linda gave a speech about how you were when you were a kid and people sounded so shocked about how she described you because, well, you don't talk about your past a lot. Every hero that your civilian identity knew their civilian identity showed up, standing in little clumps all over the graveyard. The church we had to hold the ceremony in was huge to keep everyone. There were representatives from the League of Assassins – Talia al Ghul was out of her mind with anger and actually had to get escorted off the premises. Cat Woman was there and the whole family was there too of course. It was unbelievable to watch. And the epitaph was perfect. It fit you like a glove. It said, "For this man, nothing's so sacred as honor and nothing's so loyal as love*. Tandem Felix**." Look at you, all fancy with your Latin gravestone. I'm not actually sure who picked it out. I think it was Bruce. They made sure to check with me and they made sure that I liked it before they used it. You should have seen how much I cried at that. Actually, you shouldn't. I know you wouldn't want me crying so much. I also know that you would have cried as much as I am if our situations were reversed.

There I am, crying again. I'm gonna let this letter stop here. This is a lot harder than it seemed when Linda recommended it to me. She's actually helping pack up the house in Palo Alto. She's sweet like that. Anyways, I'll tell you more next month. Bye!

Love,

Artemis

Wally's own eyes were filled with tears as he moved onto the next letter. He'd hurt so many people by being transported to another dimension. He knew, instinctually, that there was no way that this was his fault, but he couldn't help but feel like it was. The next letter was open and he started reading through it.

Dear Wally,

Here we go again. Hopefully I can stay a little bit more on track than I did last time. Alright, so I moved back into the house at Palo Alto. Brucely is still devastated. He sleeps on your side of the bed and always sits and waits at the door on Thursday nights because you always came home later than me on Thursdays. He sniffs at places where your stuff used to be and looks up at me with great big, sad eyes. You never had to deal with Brucely's puppy dog face, but it was killer. Almost as bad as yours. M'gann sleeps over a lot and when she can't, Zatanna or Raquel try to. Sometimes it's Cass or Jinx or Stephanie or Barbara over at the house with me. They all try so hard to help me feel better. It's really sweet of them. I'm still not over you, but I'm definitely living a little more. But just a little. I'm, according to all the rest, not as nice or open or happy as I used to be. M'gann and I got into a fight and she even said I've turned into a cold monster. I don't know if she's right. She probably is. I just feel numb now.

Actually, most people are back to living in their houses. Bart permanently moved in with Jaime because they're best buds and because he really didn't want to deal with living in the same house as his dad and aunt whenever they were born. I mean, that's understandable, right? No one wants to be the older kid mentor to your own father. Harper (that's the original Roy, the one that goes by Arsenal; he officially got his name changed so things wouldn't be so confusing) moved in with Ollie who's ecstatic about it. You should have seen the cleaning spree he put all us archers through to get his house ready. Jade and Roy are even thinking about letting Ollie get to know Lian a bit more. You'd love Lian by the way. She's such a sweet heart even if she's going to grow up crazy with those two as her parents. It's cute the way Roy just melts around her though. Lian and Jade have got that man wrapped around their fingers. Roy's got a bunch of pictures of you up on his fridge, actually. It hurts a little when I see those when I go over to babysit, but I'm getting better at dealing.

I think they're the only things that stopped Roy from pulling a Dick and disappearing. Speaking of that, Dick still isn't back. People are starting to get a little worried. I mean, there's been a few news casts of a mysterious caped figure saving lives all across the world and, from the way he fights, a lot of us are pretty sure that it's Dick, but we don't know for sure. He still sends messages to Bruce letting us know he's okay. I guess that's just his way of mourning. I don't know. I don't think you realize how many people had you as their way of mourning. When people were sad, they went to you. It was just a thing. But now people are sad because you're gone, so their normal coping method doesn't work. So we're all having to figure out new coping methods. I don't think many of us are doing a very good job at it. I know I'm not.

Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne are dating again which is weird for everyone. Who knows if it'll last? Scratch that, we all know it won't last. They're kind of cute together, though. I understand now what you always saw in them. Seeing other people date is kind of upsetting for me though. And there are certainly a lot of people dating. Cassie and Virgil started dating which is as weird as it gets. I mean, did they even know each other? Sure, they're on the same Team, but they usually get split up into different groups. Cassie is on Beta because she's kind of new, but still experienced and Virgil is on Omega because he's brand new. He's doing great, though. His mentor is really helping him out and he just gets better each day. Neither of them have told their parents/guardians yet. I can't wait to see Diana's reaction. That will make my day. I'm getting better at that too – finding little things that make me happy for a moment. I'm getting a lot better. Anyways, those two are dating and they're soooo awkward around each other. I'm pretty sure neither of them have dated people before by the way they're acting. Cute, but awkward.

Then there's Bart and Jinx. I think. They were dating last time I checked, but with their ups and downs, who even knows? You remember how Steph and Tim were? They're worse. It's ridiculous! I think everyone needs a relationship like Damian and Colin. They were together since they were, what? Ten? And they never needed someone else. You were the first person I'd ever dated and I remember you telling me that I was the first person you'd dated too. We were kind of like Damian and Colin. I'd tell you how the whole Bat Clan are dealing with your, um, death (look, I said it! I couldn't even say the word last letter), but I'm not sure. Like I said last time, they scattered. No one really has good contact with any of them and any of the contact we do have is limited and stilted. I wish I could help them, but there's not really much I can do.

What else was I planning on telling you about? School's fine. There's not anything special going on there. They'd held a memorial for you and you've even got your own little shrine there. I didn't ever tell you how you 'died', did I? Falcon had just been announced as dead after saving the world from the last MFD and the whole world cried. It was awful. Vlatava even declared the day you died a national holiday. You forgot to tell me that you were royalty there. Sir Falcon. God, that sounds stupid. It fits you perfectly though. Anyways, Bruce Wayne finally sent in an official missing person's report to the Gotham PD, saying that you'd been staying with him and then had just up and disappeared. Bruce said that he'd looked everywhere for you, but hadn't filed the report until the customary 24 hours missing deadline thing or whatever. Jim Gordon reported on finding your body the next day. You were apparently found all torn to pieces on the side of a road. The story was that someone had called you and you were going to meet them, but that person (still unknown) ended up attacking you and killing you during that meeting. You were then further desecrated by wild animals. Awful, right? They had to have a reason for the funeral to be closed casket, though. Because, I mean, there wasn't a body to bury.

Anyways, so, yeah… it's good to be back on the Team even if it isn't as Artemis. Tigress is pretty awesome, though, and we've taken down a good number of villains in the past month. The first month, it was almost like even the villains were mourning you. Certainly the Rogues were. They were devastated. They actually hunted Barry down and screamed at him about letting you die and then he screamed back about if it could have been him then he'd have taken your spot in a heartbeat. Barry and Rogues went out for a drink after that and gave each other a nice, month long chance to mourn before getting back into their fighting even if it wasn't as enthusiastic as before. Joker though. Joker went crazy. He burned down a ton of his warehouses and kidnapped people to get Batman's attention and, when he was inevitably caught, he just sat there rocking and saying Joker Junior to himself. It was terrifying.

You probably didn't want to hear about that, huh? God, I hadn't meant to talk so much about your being gone. I guess I really didn't have a choice, though. Everyone is still hung up on it. I'll just, I don't know. I tell you more next month. I don't think I can keep going today. Bye.

Love,

Artemis

The next letter was open almost before he'd finished reading the second.

Dear Wally,

It's been three months to the day since you died. There's not really much that's changed since last month. Oh, Dick visited me. That came as a shock. It's been three months since I've seen him, you know? He looked awful. As bad as this sounds, it made me feel a little better about how I've been coping. At least I didn't leave everyone else and go underground for months. That's not really fair, is it? I guess I'm still mad about our conversation. It was the stupidest thing for us to argue about, too.

I'm sitting there with Brucely and I'm working on my homework, right? There's this light knocking on the door and I just assumed it was one of the girls coming to keep me company like they do. But then I look through that extra little hole you put in the door so we could look out the door without letting the people at the door know right where our heads were or whatever you said about it. Bat paranoia, I still say. Anyways, I looked through that extra little hole and I was like, that's Dick out there! So I pull open the door right away and he's just standing there soaked to the bone and dripping blood on the front porch. Obviously, this isn't as unusual a scene as it should be. Being heroes gets you used to friends dropping by your house dripping blood on the porch. So I pull him into the room and sit him on the kitchen counter. I had to go lock Brucely in our room because you know how he is about blood. I still swear he's part vampire. I also maintain that that's why Damian got him for us. I wouldn't put it past him to give us a vampire dog.

Anyways, I get Dick up on the kitchen counter and I start treating his wounds right away. He had some cuts on his arms and a particularly bad one on the back of his calf. Then he just says, nonchalantly, "Long time no see."

I just kind of stop what I'm doing and am like, "I'm sorry, what?" And he repeats what he said! His nerve! So I go back to tending to his wounds and bite out, "I wonder why."

He just shrugs and says, "I've just been sight-seeing."

So I'm starting to get mad now, "Sight-seeing? Uh huh, sure." I get a little control of my temper and am like, "How are you holding up?"

He just shrugs again and is like, "I'm fine. It's not like sight-seeing can get very upsetting."

Can you believe he said that? I mean, yeah, he's a Bat which means that he's emotionally stunted – no offence to you, of course. But still! Denial much? So I finally snap out, "Cut the bull, Dick. You went so far underground that none of us had any idea where you were. Everyone just wants to make sure you're okay after Wally's death."

And that finally broke his cool and collected little mask he had on. He said, "Don't say his name."

I responded, "I'm sorry. I didn't know I couldn't say the name of the love of my life. You're not the only one mourning in case you hadn't figured that out."

And he goes, "I get that other people are mourning, but think about how much worse it is for me, Artemis! I've known him since he was nine years old! We did everything together!"

So I shouted back, "It shouldn't matter how long I've known him! He was the love of my life and I his! I can mourn him just as deeply as you! And did you ever stop to think that Roy knew him just as long as you did? Huh? Did that ever occur to you? That didn't stop him from staying with his family and making sure that his friends were getting through this! That didn't stop him from letting his friends help him!"

And it just devolved from there. I won't tell you everything we said because it all got pretty hurtful as the argument went on. Then I punched him. Real adult of me, right? I couldn't help it. He just looked at me all shocked and stuff and then he leapt off the counter and stalked out of the house and I couldn't help but think good riddance. I know that's awful, but I don't care. He was being stupid.

And I'm getting worked up. I'll write to you again in a month, okay? Bye.

Love,

Artemis

Wally was caught between laughing at the fact that Artemis actually punched him and frowning at the fact that this rift between his brother and his girlfriend (fiancé now!) was his fault. He tore open the next letter.

Dear Wally,

Four months now. I don't really have a lot of time to write, but I'll put in as much as I can. We're on the bioship right now patrolling down in Bialya. Beast Boy is trying to hold himself together which sucks to see because this is all bringing back a lot of painful memories for him. Anyways (I say that a lot, don't I), you know how, in my second letter, I said that Cassie and Virgil dating was as weird as it gets? Well, apparently I lied. Barbara and La'gaan just started dating a couple of days ago. I'm scarred! And Barbara decided that she would introduce her boyfriend to her dad through a party because she wasn't sure if she could do it if she wasn't surrounded by friends. I mean, she doesn't even live in the house anymore and she's a grown woman, but she still worries about what her dad will say. So all of us are here at this party and Jim Gordon walks in and is like, hey, what's up? Everyone doing alright? You know how he is.

So then Babs rolls up to him with her and La'gaan holding hands and is like, "Yeah, we're fine dad. By the way, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, La'gaan." I think his eyes were about to pop right out of his head. It was the funniest thing! Honestly made my day. I mean, it was definitely a legitimate reaction because that would be weird as all get out, but Gordon calmed down pretty quickly and just clears his throat, shakes La'gaan's hand and says nice to meet you before leaving the room as fast as he could. La'gaan was so confused – he couldn't figure out if that meant that her dad liked him or not. So funny!

Shoot! We're disembarking soon. Who doesn't love a trip into Bialya to deal with gorillas? Actually, there's only one gorilla. But he can talk. With a German accent. Because he's a Nazi. And a vampire. He calls himself Pyremaul and he is a talking, Nazi, vampire gorilla. Because that's just how our life goes. Anyways, I gotta go! Love you, bye!

Love,

Artemis

Wally still couldn't help the confused expression that overtook his face when Babs and La'gaan were mentioned. That was just so wrong. So, so very wrong. He wasn't even going to think about the vampire gorilla. He had one telekinetic gorilla in his city and that was enough for him. He went to the next letter and immediately saw how short it was.

Dear Wally,

Why am I even still doing this after five freaking months? What even is the point of sitting here, wasting my time writing to you? You can't hear me! You can't see these! I'm just wasting my time! Why am I even still sitting here writing? God, I'm so pathetic! I'm so drunk too. This is… I can't… why did you have to go and die?! Huh?! Why Wally? Why? Answer me! What's the point of sitting here asking you these stupid questions and writing these stupid letters if you don't even care enough to give me a stupid answer?! Whatever. I don't care.

Love,

Artemis

Wally's heart clenched at that one and his fingers carded through Artemis's hair with a bit more urgency. He'd driven her to this. This was his fault. He didn't open the next letter with as much enthusiasm as the last.

Dear Wally,

Haha, sorry about that last one. I wrote that on November 20th. Five months since the day you died. Nine days since the day you would have turned 19. That's why I drank. And why I was so mad. There are all these scumbags out there that we fight day in and day out that get to live until their old age – Vandal stupid Savage is over 50,000 years old! And you didn't even make it until 19. It was just a little hard to deal with. This month is a little hard to deal with too. It's been exactly six months since you died. Half a year since I saw you last. It doesn't feel real sometimes. For some reason, I still wake up and imagine that you're going to be sitting there next to me in bed, dead asleep after spending all night last-minute working on some assignment or another. But I'm getting better. Everyone is, actually. We're all slowly working our way back to some semblance of normalcy.

Everyone I mentioned dating other people are still dating those people and Dick is back on the Team, finally. He's not leading, but we're all just glad he's back. It was actually a little rocky at first when he came back because people weren't quite sure how to deal with that. The original group were happy to have their leader back and we easily fell into the habit of having Kaldur lead us, but the new kids weren't quite as easy to work with. I mean, think about it: this person was someone who they were always told was a villain. All of them fought against Kaldur at some point. And sure, now they know that he was a double agent the whole time, but it still can't be easy. And then Dick, the leader they'd worked under, shows up and says that he's not going to go back to be a leader. He works great under Kaldur's leadership as well and they were just so confused.

It wasn't that big of a deal until Kaldur and Dick disagreed on something in the field. The whole Team split down the middle for a little bit because they weren't sure who to follow. The old ones went with Kaldur and the new with Dick with a couple of people unexpectedly switching sides. You know how it is. But it was all smoothed over and everything worked out fine. Oh, Dick and I are better now, too. We talked it out and smoothed over that argument I told you about in my third letter. Wow, I've only written six letters. It feels like a lot more. And it's getting easier too.

Everything is getting easier. I still feel numb and I still miss you like there's no tomorrow, but I'm not as bad as I was. Everyone is really good at helping each other through it. I guess it helps to know that you're not the only one hurting about something. It makes it easier to ask for help if you know that they need help too.

Anyways, M'gann, Conner, Kaldur, Dick, and I are hanging out tonight. This is a sad kind of anniversary and we figured it would be better if we were together for this. I'll talk to you in a month. Bye!

Love,

Artemis

Wally was glad that it hadn't been all horrible for Artemis in the time he was gone. He easily moved onto the next, and final, letter.

Dear Wally,

I miss you. In all this letters, I don't think I ever once said that, but it's true. I miss you so much! I'm sure you could have figured it out on your own because I was never all that vocal about my love (I should have been) and you learned to read between the lines and understand what I was trying to say without me having to say it outright. You were great like that.

Anyways, what to tell you about the last month? It's been pretty uneventful. Conner and M'gann's anniversary went by a week or so ago and they were so cute during that. M'gann's growing her hair out again! I'm excited about that. I always liked it better longer. It's always great having another girl's hair to practice putting up. Me, Jinx, Babs, and Karen went all out on getting M'gann ready for her and Conner's anniversary. They were going out for a date at this place that was alien friendly. I can't remember the name at the moment. I did M'gann's hair with Jinx holding the pieces that I couldn't. It helps to have more than one pair of hands. Babs picked out the dress and jewelry and shoes and Karen did M'gann's makeup. It was amazing!

It's kind of amazing how much has changed since you've gone away. We've all learned to live with your loss. It still hurts us and there are still days where we'll find members of the Justice League wiping away tears as they stand in front of your hologram in the hall of the fallen. So we haven't forgotten you, but we've… I don't know how to word it. You know what I mean, though. You always do. Bye.

Love,

Artemis

Wally smiled as near silent tears fell down his face. He only started wiping them away when one fell onto Artemis's cheek, causing her to stir into awareness. She blinked beautiful eyes up at Wally and he cupped her face with one hand, kissing her. She pulled back after a moment and smiled happily, "Wally, what…" Her voice cut off as she saw the letters on the ground and her smile turned a little wistful, "I really did miss you Wally. Every day I thought of new things to write about when the 20th of the month came around and I'd write that letter."

"I know. I love you so much, baby." Wally said.

"I love you too, Wally." Artemis responded. That was where Alfred found the two of them twenty minutes later when he finally made it home.


	2. Family

Prompt: Bat family's reaction to Wally coming home (especially Alfred) by Guestz

AAAAAA

To say Alfred was shocked when he came home to the sounds of murmuring and soft laughter would be an understatement. What shocked him even more was the identity of one of those voices. He'd never forget it. This was one of his grandchildren, one of the most important people in his world. Wally West-Wayne was upstairs in his room. Quickly placing his bags down in the kitchen, Alfred started to make his way up towards the floor with all of the living chambers, eyes bright like they hadn't been since the day Masters Bruce and Dick came home with news of their youngest's passing.

So intent on reaching Master Wally, Alfred was barely able to pull to a stop in time from crashing into his eldest, Master Bruce. Coughing slightly into his fist to relieve some of the embarrassment at being caught as giddy as he'd been, Alfred said formally, "Master Bruce, welcome home. I was just about to start the finished touches for dinner when I heard some concerning noises come from the upstairs. I had figured that I should investigate before moving any further with the dinner preparations."

There was a twinkle of humor that'd been missing from Bruce's eyes as long as the light had been missing from Alfred's as the owner of the house said with a smirk, "Oh, that's fine Alfred. I think we can handle this mysterious noise ourselves. There's no need for you to stress your joints with an unnecessary trip upstairs."

Alfred sent Bruce his patented 'unpressed look' as Dick had taken to calling it. This expression was a masterful mix between not-quite-glaring-but-still-highly-disappointed and you-had-better-not-test-me-boy that Alfred had perfected over years of dealing with the so called 'Bat Clan'. Without missing a beat, Alfred swept past his children and started up the stairs, a little smug about the fact that his bones were not, in fact, in pain over this little endeavor, "I believe, Master Bruce, that it would be better for you to rest after the excitement of today. Perhaps you and the other Masters and Mistresses could retire yourselves to the dining room where I will be serving you shortly." Jason's guffaw, Colin's giggles, and Dick's cackle made Alfred increasingly proud of himself as he continued up the stairs.

It didn't take him long to make it upstairs to Wally's room. He took a second to pause and take in the scene of his boy sitting in his beanbag chair (the thing was as old as Wally and just as worn and trialed) curled around Artemis and their dog Brucely. Alfred's training was the only thing that allowed him to keep his snort in as he remembered Master Bruce's reaction to the dog's name. It had been more than amusing and was, of course, within Dick's private collection of blackmail material.

Apparently whatever little huff of air that came out in place of the snort was enough to alert the couple to his presence because, moments later, Wally was staring at Alfred with bright, bright green eyes and Alfred's voice caught in his throat. The rest of the family had kept him updated on the situation and had definitely told him of that particular development, but hearing about it and seeing it was drastically different (and if that didn't describe everything Wally was going through right now, Alfred didn't know what would). It was almost disconcerting the way Wally's eyes flicked over him almost too fast to catch. Then Wally's eyes were meeting Alfred's again and they were crinkling at the corners and Alfred wondered if they always used to crinkle at the corners like that when Wally smiled. Instead of voicing the question, Alfred cleared his throat and announced, "Dinner will be ready shortly. Should I make up a seat at the table for Mistress Artemis? And a bowl for Master Brucely?"

Wally's smile got impossibly wider in that way that only a speedster could master and glanced to Artemis for a moment before turning back to Alfred, "Artemis is a little tired, so she's going to take a nap instead. She'll grab something later if she's hungry then. But could you make up a bowl for Brucely? Because that'd be great. He loves your cooking almost as much as I do." To punctuate the point, Wally ruffled the hair behind Brucely's ears, causing the dog to snuffle and whine in joy. Wally turned those impossibly green eyes back onto the butler and asked innocently, "Would you like any help with supper?"

And Alfred almost broke down right there because, even as an adult who lived on his own, Wally always made sure to ask Alfred if he needed help with making supper. It was something about feeling guilty about making the butler make so much food, but Alfred normally turned the boy down. This time, however guilty he felt about taking Wally away from the rest of his family, Alfred accepted, "That would be peachy, Master Wally." So Wally grinned at him and lifted Artemis up and sped her over to the bed, ignoring her squeak of shock. The two shared a chaste kiss before Wally was speeding away, standing next to Alfred suddenly and beckoning Brucely to follow them.

The trio walked in silence towards the kitchen, Wally just as silent as any other member of the Bat Clan, maybe even more so. And Alfred had heard what his boy had gone through, so he certainly understood that Wally had his defenses up, even here safe at home in his own dimension finally. They made it to the kitchen and Alfred was starting to wonder how much longer he could go without breaking down when Wally pulled the older man into his arms and squeezed as strong as he dared. Alfred easily pulled his arms around the younger man, tucking the boy's head in under Alfred's chin and running a soothing hand up and down the ginger's back. Wally had always been the most tactile member of the Bat Clan with Dick as a close second, but that still wasn't saying much, so Alfred treasured every hug he received from this rambunctious collection of characters. This one, Alfred treasured more than ever before.

When Wally had died, it hadn't been like one of those horror story that every family fears where the last words they had with their loved one was words of anger. They'd parted on perfectly pleasant terms, actually discussing when Wally could bring Artemis over next, after the whole Reach debacle finished. Alfred had said 'cheerio' and Wally had said 'see you' and it had been like any other conversation. That didn't mean that Alfred hadn't wished that their last conversation had gone a little differently. He wished that he'd been able to tell Wally how much the boy meant to Alfred and how much he loved the boy like he was his own grandchild and he hadn't gotten to say any of those things. And then the family had scattered across the world and Alfred couldn't help but worry even more about all of his kids because he couldn't say those words to any of them now. But then Wally was alive and now… now he's home and safe in Alfred's arms and Alfred promised himself that he would make sure to tell each and every one of his children how much he loved them every time they went away.

Wally's muffled voice eventually came out from where it was buried in Alfred's chest, "I missed you so much, Alfred."

"And I you, Master Wally. Now, shall we begin the final preparations for dinner? There is a cutting board there. Yes. Could you please slice the lettuce for some salads? Thank you." Alfred said, starting up a steady litany of words that lasted the ten or fifteen minutes of preparation needed for the meal. Alfred was beyond grateful that Wally didn't comment on the obvious tears leaking from the corners of Alfred's eyes.

After fifteen minutes of amiable conversation had passed, dinner was ready and the two of them were carrying it up to the rest of the family. Brucely was left in the kitchen with his, admittedly, rather large bowl of scraps. Expensive scraps. All thoughts of Brucely left Alfred's mind, however, when they opened the door to the dining room and found the rest of the family already in their seats, chatter cutting off as the two of them walked into the room. Everyone stood up to take trays and help set the table before everyone moved back into their seats. This was one of the few rare times where Alfred sat at the table with them instead of standing off to the side (they all assured him on numerous occasions that it was perfectly alright for him to sit with them and that they would actually prefer it, but he wanted to keep at least some of his dignity as a butler) and he easily slid into the seat next to Bruce. There was silence for a few beats as everyone piled food onto their own plates, occasionally jostling each other to get to a particular bit of food before the other. It was gratifying to see.

Wally was, unsurprisingly, the first one to speak, "So what was this I've heard about everyone going to ground in different cities – or countries? Did any of you even talk to each other in the time that I was gone?" And of course he chose such a difficult question.

Dick responded first, "I talked to Bruce! I sent him messages once a week so he'd know I was okay!"

Jason shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his chair, food delicately placed in his mouth, "I didn't talk to anyone. Not like that's much different from me most of the time." Wally sent him a glare that was actually quite terrifying – without even seeing it, Wally had mastered the Bat Glare, apparently.

Tim defended, "I talked to Bruce occasionally! Sometimes we needed some info for a case with the Titans."

"I called once a month." Cass said quietly.

Damian smirked at them, "I talked to Colin. Almost every day. Aren't you so proud of me?" There was a brief moment where most of the family just stared at the biological Wayne before Wally burst into laughter. It wasn't long before the rest of the family joined in as well. Alfred knew that this conversation wasn't over and that there was a good chance that people's feelings were going to get hurt and that this was going to end in another bout of time where the family didn't talk to each other, but for the moment none of that mattered. For the moment, all that mattered was that the entire family was back and whole and alive and they would treasure that for as long as it lasted.

For a moment, nothing but them mattered. And it was beautiful.


	3. Rogues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rogue reactions to Wally coming home (idea by Guestz)

LLLLLL

Len scowled at the door. There was someone knocking insistently on it and he was getting rather annoyed. People didn't want to see him irritated. Especially not recently. It had been seven, eight months since one of the Rogue's heroes died, but that didn't help any. Time didn't help anything when you don't get to say goodbye. Len remembered the day Barry told the Rogues that Wally was dead.

Much like the present situation, there was an annoying knocking on the door and none of the Rogues were particularly excited about getting up to answer it. Through the years, James had indoctrinated the team to My Little Ponies and it was actually a surprisingly good show. Mind, none of the Rogues would admit that even under pain of death. No one needed to know that a bunch of powerful, smart, talented male villains enjoyed watching My Little Ponies. Except their heroes. Their heroes could know because James forced them to join in on the weekly watching of the show. It was a tried and tested method of keeping the family together and anyone who could make it showed up. The only time it was acceptable for people to not show was if they were on a mission/heist or if they were in jail. Anything else was unacceptable and the rest of the Rogues would hunt them down and make sure that they watched this. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

So that's why the Rogues were sitting in the living room, ignoring the sounds of someone knocking on the door, watching My Little Ponies. Luckily, everyone was out of jail at the moment (Len had just gotten out recently), but, unfortunately, both Barry and Falcon were out doing something hero related. Something about aliens and the Reach and Luthor and tornadoes. Awful world-ending stuff. Honestly, Len was pretty sure they were just exaggerating because they talk about 'world ending' problems that they have to deal with a lot. So either they were exaggerating, or the world had issues. Either way, it sounded exhausting. This was why he was a villain and not a hero. So much more fun.

Then the knocking tapered off and everyone breathed a sigh of relief before a voice called out, "I know you're in there because it's My Little Pony Monday. I have to talk to you guys about something." It was Barry.

James was the one who ended up pausing the show (no one else dared to, especially when he had his acid snot gun on hand) and bounding over to the door to open it. Len and the rest of the Rogues weren't met with the sight they were expecting. Barry looked like a mess. His blond hair was tangled and pushed to the side like he'd tried to brush it, but had given up. His normally cheerful bright blue eyes were dim and bloodshot and red-rimmed and there was stubble spreading along his jaw and cheeks. His clothes were rumpled and his shoulders slumped. This wasn't the speedster they knew. Speedsters weren't ever unhappy. It was a thing. Well, no, sometimes the Rogues got to see the aftermaths of unhappy speedsters as they were finding their way back into the realm of happiness and optimism. But they'd never actually seen an upset speedster like they were seeing now.

Mick ran to the kitchen, grabbing a cup of hot chocolate out of the crock pot they make up every week for My Little Pony Monday and Mark settled Barry into one of the armchairs. Hartley put away the college work he'd been half-focusing on and Digger set down the boomerang he'd been cleaning. Mick pressed the hot chocolate into Barry's hands and Len started to get really concerned when Barry didn't drink any of it. He just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. All the Rogues were sitting on the edge of their seats. What could have happened that would make Barry act this way?

Barry's voice sounded broken and sad when he finally spoke, "We were fighting against the Reach and there was… there was something that only speedsters could do, so Falcon, Impulse, and I went out to deal with it, but…" His voice trailed off and Len's breath caught in his throat. Please tell him that this wasn't what he thought it was. Please let this not be the speech every person dreads to hear about their family and the Rogue's heroes were their family. Barry picked up again, voice weaker, eyes filling with tears, "Falcon didn't make it. He didn't make it." And he broke down. Sam and Hartley rushed to his side, comforting him and shushing him; taking care of him. Mick stumbled backwards, falling into the couch where Digger leaned against him in shock. Mark dropped the mug of hot chocolate he held. No one flinched as it shattered against the ground. Len… Len was frozen. He was frozen solid and he wasn't sure what he was feeling. Was he even feeling anything? What sort of monster was he that he couldn't even feel at a time like this?

James's voice was small and sad when he asked, "Was he in a lot of pain?"

Barry's shoulders slumped further and his voice broke, but he still answered, "No, James." And Barry had always been such a bad liar and Len could read the truth as clear as day. Falcon had been in pain when he'd died. He'd died. He was dead. He was never going to come back. He was never going to have My Little Pony Mondays with them. They would never get him to trust them and open up to them the way Barry did. That was when the emotion hit. That was when everything came crashing down on Len and he felt. Falcon was gone. He was gone, gone, gone.

And since that day, the Rogues had been quieter and less punny and more serious. Crime had been less fun without Falcon running around to stop them. My Little Pony Mondays seemed heavier and gloomier where they were supposed to be amazing and fun. Everything was so, so wrong now and here was someone interrupting their My Little Pony Monday where everyone was in a bad mood no matter what.

But then James grabbed the remote and paused the TV, chirping, "I have a good feeling about this." And then he was up and bouncing towards the door. That wasn't a particularly strange thing for James to do, so no one really thought anything of it. They only really tuned in again when the door opened and James asked accusingly, "Who are you?"

"I'm offended!" The stranger at the door responded, "Don't you recognize me? Oh, it's the hair isn't it. It's definitely the hair that's throwing you off." The voice niggled at Len's memories enough that it had him turning. There was a kid wearing bright yellow and red with the Flash's symbol on his chest and opaque red goggles and wild red hair. The suit was skin tight and showed off all his muscles. The kid couldn't have been older than eighteen, nineteen. When all James did was tilt his head curiously at the person standing in the door way, the kid shrugged carelessly and sped into the room, disappearing into the kitchen. Well, Len thought to himself, the kid wasn't just some random idiot running around in a hero suit trying to look cool. This one actually had powers.

Which didn't make it okay for him to just speed into their kitchen like that. Before Len could even get up to confront the kid, the speedster was back in the living room, lounging on Falcon's favorite chair. That chair had never been sat in since the young hero passed away and Len was not going to have this. First, he interrupts My Little Pony Monday. Second,he walks in without asking. Third, he steals some hot chocolate. Fourth, he sits in Falcon's chair. This kid was trying to get on their nerves.

That thought was only compounded when the red head smirked at them imperiously before taking a sip of the hot chocolate and humming happily. Len opened his mouth to tell the kid off, but, again, the kid beat him to it, "So, do you guys seriously still not recognize me? Even after I gave you the hint about my hair? C'mon, seriously? I haven't been gone that long." Everyone stared at him blankly. Len was almost positive they didn't know this kid. The speedster let out another huff of breath before saying exasperatedly, "I haven't been gone that long. Only about eight months. Hint, hint, wink, wink."

Len got it first. He could tell by the way the others were still narrowing their eyes and mouthing the words 'eight months' that they hadn't made the connection. Len had, though. He'd made the connection, but he was actually afraid to voice it. Was this really true? It couldn't be. Nothing ever ended up this well. But he was the leader of this group and he needed to have the strength to make this plunge. Voice even and drawling, Len asked, "What's with the new get up, Falcon?"

The winning smile on Falcon's face showed Len that he was right which was more of a relief than anything else Len had gone through. The true gratification came from the expressions on the faces of his teammates. They were shocked. They were beyond shocked. Falcon grinned and said, "I ended up somewhere new and figured I should get a new suit and name to go with it."

"Oh, you've got a new name now?" Len asked disinterestedly.

Falcon grinned, "Yep! Call me Kid Flash."

"Aren't you an adult now?" Hartley asked, voice rough.

Falcon, no Kid Flash, smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know? I will tell you, though, that when I went away, I was de-aged which was inconvenient. It also might have been part of the reason that I chose this name."

"Where were you?" Mick exploded before Kid Flash could go on, "Barry came and told us you were dead. Did you not think to contact us all this time? Did you not think that you could come to us for help? Where were you?"

Kid Flash's face grew impossibly sad, something that was still foreign on a speedster's face even if they saw it with Barry a lot after Kid Flash's 'death'. Kid Flash said, "You don't know how much I wanted to come home, but I didn't know how. I was… I was sent to another dimension. I didn't have anyone I knew and I had no idea how to get back and I was de-aged and everything was new and different and I was so, so scared and I just wanted to go home. And then, we finally figured out how to get me home and then it messed up and I was sent to a different dimension and… that one was almost worst because that dimension had doppelgangers of this dimension and I fought with that dimension's Flash against you, Mick, and Len and you guys were just starting out your supervillain careers and none of the rest of you were around while I was there, but I missed you guys so much. Please believe me when I say that I always missed you the entire time I was gone."

"Oh Falcon." Sam said, engulfing his physics student in a hug. Kid Flash accepted it easily, hugging Sam back tightly. Before the two could break apart, James glomped the two of them, adding to the hug and apparently that was all the cue the rest of them needed because suddenly Sam and Kid Flash were at the bottom of a dog pile and Len shrugged, smirked, and joined in. The things he did for his family…


	4. Bomberang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Dick requesting Daddy Bats to make a bomberang for him and Batman being like, no, not happening and then Wally asking why not (idea by Thine_Everlasting)

DDDDDD

Damian was at home with the other members of the so-called Bat Clan. They were currently brainstorming ways to miraculously bring Wally back to life. They had to plan it around his big reveal as Falcon turned Kid Flash, but that wasn't even the big problem. The problem was that they'd beentoo thorough when reporting Wally's 'death' when he'd disappeared into a different dimension. There had been a report of him missing and then a report of someone finding him. Even the Commissioner had testified to it having been Wally West-Wayne's body they found. There was a closed casket funeral. The entire nation was convinced that Wally was dead and there weren't a lot of good ways to convince them otherwise.

"Clone?" Tim had suggested before shaking his head, "No, the public isn't quite ready for a scandal that big. Not so soon after the Reach problem."

"Faked his death? No, there wasn't any reason to. Everyone knows that Wally is a carefree kid who loves his life and his girlfriend." Colin mused.

Wally grinned victoriously and kissed Artemis, "I think you mean my fiancé."

"Your what?" Father spluttered.\

"My fiancé." Wally answered simply. Artemis grinned and waved her ring. Damian wasn't quite sure how their father hadn't noticed. Everyone else had already congratulated the couple. Then again, there was the stress associated with catching a large group of criminals and getting one's son returned from another dimension.

"What if we said that he was kidnapped by someone and they faked his death? That's more plausible. It could easily be explained. That would also help explain the sudden ability to see. We could say they wanted to experiment on him. Explain something about Batman finding him and returning him to Bruce Wayne and they've all been laying low for a while so Wally can heal." Jason announced, tone dull with boredom.

Damian raised an eyebrow, "Look. It actually said something intelligent." All Jason did in return was flip him off.

"That's a good idea, Jason. I'll start building that online and making sure the necessary people know what to say and when. That is, if you're alright with that Wally?" Bruce said, already half turned towards the Bat Computer. Wally nodded with a bright smile. Damian couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his own face watching his youngest brother so happy and at home.

The group split as people started up conversations with each other, waiting for Bruce to finish and also just catching up with each other after their long, self-imposed exiles. They didn't all fall silent until Dick asked, "Hey Bruce, can I have a bomberang?"

"No." Bruce answered emphatically.

Tim tilted his head to the side, "Bomb… erang?"

"Yeah! Like Captain Boomerang has! He has boomerangs that explode. Wouldn't those be called bomberangs?" Dick asked, completely serious. Damian winced at his second youngest brother's usual butchering of the English language.

Wally chimed in, "Imagine how awesome that would be! Normally, Digger takes some really nice 3D printed poly-carbon frames and then inserts the metal edges that range in sharpness and covers the whole thing with an overlay of smooth aerodynamic plastic that he melts together and sands the rough edges off. But sometimes he makes the frames a little less substantial and makes up for the loss in weight with some C4. He replaces the metal with matchstick material and keeps those boomerangs in a special pocket of his jacket. When he pulls it out of his jacket, the matchstick lights against the friction of the special pocket and he's got everything positioned perfectly so it blows up when he wants it to instead of, like, in his face." Wally had gotten more energetic as he went, eyes lighting up (and wasn't that beautiful to see) and hands waving around.

Cass's voice was soft and curious when she asked, "How is that different from an exploding Batarang?"

Dick took up the response there, eyes lighting up just like Wally's, "A bomberang comes back. Batarangs just explode and then stay there."

"It wouldn't come back." Tim said, frowning as he thought about it.

"Yeah it would." Dick argued.

"No," Tim stressed, "It wouldn't. The explosion would throw off the return path."

"Unless you calculated the return path to calibrate to that." Wally reminded them.

Jason frowned, "You're all morons. Even I know that the bomberang would have just exploded. It would be in a bunch of small chunks and those come back to you."

"That's how Captain Boomerang does it." Dick explained patiently, "But Wally and I have been talking and we think we figured something out. What if the bomberang was made of a bunch of small boomerangs that were melted together? All the tiny boomerangs would come back!"

"You don't know that the bomberang would explode in those particular places, though." Artemis frowned, obviously reluctant to argue against her recently returned fiancé, but unwilling to let their stupidity go unchallenged.

"That's not true." Tim said and everyone gaped at him because he was actually joining forces with those morons. He scowled at them, but continued, "If you melted the small boomerangs together, when the bomberang explodes, it will break apart at the parts that are easiest to break apart."

"The places where the small boomerangs are melted together, separating the small boomerangs and not tearing them apart." Artemis finished, nodding her head along with Tim, Wally, and Dick. Damian could not believe what he was seeing. Were those two actually agreeing with the family morons?

Jason butted back in again, "You can't calibrate the return paths of all those small boomerangs, though. And even if you could, you couldn't catch them all."

"We don't need them to return all the way to me, though." Dick reminded him, "We just need them to start a separate path, hitting all of the thugs that weren't taken out by the initial explosion."

Jason said, "Ohhh… that makes more sense." And started nodding along with the rest of them.

"How would you account for the matchstick section of the bomberang, though? That stretch couldn't be melted together the way the rest of them would be." Colin said, tilting his head to the side like an adorable little puppy. If it was anyone but the love of his life, Damian would have hurt him for keeping this idiotic conversation going.

Cass spoke up gently, "You would make it so the matchstick burns all or most of the way before the fire part of it reached the C4." Even she was supporting them now.

"Ah!" Colin exclaimed, eyes shining, "That would make sense. Then there would be no problem." He beamed at the rest of them as if they'd just discovered something marvelous. Damian was half way between horrified and wanting to kiss Colin senseless.

Father's voice was dangerous when he turned to face the gathered group, "Are you still talking about the bomberang?"

"Yep!" Dick chirped (how he was still so childlike despite his age would always remain a mystery to Damian), "And the Bat Clan has thoroughly questioned us and we've explained away all the little potential kinks. You have to let us make one!"

"No." Bruce said again.

"Please." Dick asked.

"No." Bruce responded.

"Please." Wally asked.

"No." Bruce responded.

"Please." Dick and Wally asked in unison.

"No." Bruce responded.

"But wwwwhhhhhyyyyyy?" Wally whined pathetically, draping himself over the floor next to Bruce, quickly followed by Dick.

"Why should I give you a bomberang?" Bruce sighed, sounding physically pained. Damian could relate.

"Because it's a useful weapon in the field." Wally responded brightly.

"No, it's not." Bruce shut him down.

"Bbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuccccceeeee!" Dick and Wally whined in unison. And then, Father made his fatal mistake. It was one of his few weaknesses. It was the weakness of all humans on this earth. Father turned around to tell off Dick and Wally… and fell victim to their puppy dog expressions.

Big, bright blue eyes and huge, shining emerald eyes stared up at Bruce with quivering lips and slightly puffed out cheeks and faux tears forming. And somehow, that was more deadly than even the twin puppy dog expressions Dick and Wally did when Wally's eyes were un-useable for the attack. Damian winced in sympathy for their Father, who was victim to those expressions. The only man Damian has ever known to withstand Dick and Wally's combined kicked puppy faces was Alfred and even then, only once did he have the strength to stand up to that unholy power.

For a long moment, there was silence. Bruce fought to maintain his composure, to resist the un-resistible and prove the world wrong, but, inevitably, he caved to that immense power. Bowing his head in defeat, Bruce finally sighed, "Yes Dick, you can have a bomberang."


	5. Vlatava

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Queen Perdita moment (idea by DoctorMerlinReid [it's only fair that a few of my own one-shot ideas get in here :P])

WWWWWW

Wally was… well he was actually quite nervous. He had grabbed one of his old Falcon outfits and flew across the sea over to Vlatava. He was determined to see this through. He remembered the day he saved Queen Perdita with startling clarity, remembered the way that he'd felt more accomplished that day than he had in a really long time. He remembered being knighted and how that felt like the most amazing thing that could ever happen to him (and it was definitely up there, right by proposing to Artemis and having her say yes). He remembered going through the lands that were his to control and going through lessons that taught him how he was supposed to take care of his lands because apparently she was really serious about giving him lands and a royal standard. He was legitimately her knight. And that was amazing. Because, as he watched her grow and saved her from things through the years, Wally realized that Queen Perdita was an amazing Queen. She cared about her people so much and was willing to take on any burden she had to in order to keep her people safe.

There were a lot of times where Queen Perdita would call Wally and they would just talk for hours about nothing in particular or where she would talk to him about a particular issue. She always called him her hero, but he couldn't help but feel like that wasn't true at all. At least, not compared to her. She was the real hero. Sure, birthright and the unfortunate loss of her parents was what caused her to become queen, but she could have easily skirted her duties and left, but she didn't. She ran an entire kingdom with grace and saved it from all sorts of evils – whether they be villains and criminals or politicians and potential recessions. Her knowledge was unbounded and her heart pure. Queen Perdita was the embodiment of what a hero was in Wally's mind.

That being said, she had evidently been devastated when Wally had died. He heard something about the day of his death being declared a national day of mourning. His flag had been flown in all the castle walls and Queen Perdita had taken care of his lands for him, vowing to never give those lands to another soul again. He was heartbroken at how heartbroken she was.

And that was why he had to tell her that he was still alive. He had to. She was his Queen and he couldn't in good conscience call himself a Knight of Vlatava when he caused his queen to suffer so.

The only problem was that no one else was supposed to know that he was alive yet. But he couldn't approach the queen without going through the necessary checks first and that meant other people finding out. He'd have just called her, but there was a good chance that she wouldn't believe him and that would just have hurt the girl worse.

There was only one option Wally could think of to solve this problem. He'd have to sneak into her bodyguard's room. That was going to suck, but it was a lot easier now that he could, well, see and now that he could vibrate through walls. He was going to be furious at first and there was a good chance that he would attempt to shoot Wally, but that was okay. As long as Wally didn't actually get shot, everything would work out fine.

Moments later, the royal castle came into view and Wally grinned to himself, running faster. All he wanted people to see was a gust of wind and nothing else. He didn't even want rumors of a speedster running around Vlatava. It didn't take him long to follow the familiar path to Queen Perdita's chambers. Her bodyguard, Aleksandr, had a room directly next to hers. That was the one that Wally vibrated into.

Luckily (or maybe, unluckily depending on how one looked at it), Aleksandr was in the room. And, of course, because Wally's life was never easy, he was cleaning his guns. Which meant that he had several loaded guns next to him. Fantastic. It was less than a second before the first gun was going off and Wally was catching it between his fingers. He caught bullet after bullet as he sped closer to the man and finally grabbed the gun out of his hands, moving the rest away from him too before calling out, "Whoa! Stop! Let's both of us just calm down, okay?"

Aleksandr glared at him, "Who are you?"

Wally pretended to be hurt, "You don't remember me? I thought you guys made my death day a national holiday or something. Wouldn't that equal some sort of remembrance? I'm hurt, honestly."

"You are not Falcon. Falcon is dead." Aleksandr narrowed his eyes and twitched his hand towards the knives he always kept in his boots.

Wally raised his hands, the picture of innocence, "Let's not go for the knives, yeah? Please, hear me out. Everyone thought I was dead, even my Team and my family. I wasn't dead though. I was – and I know this is going to sound unbelievable, but it's true, I promise – I was in another dimension. I know that sounds not real, but it really is. I swear! On my honor as a Vlatavan knight, I swear that I am telling the truth and that I am Falcon, alive and in the flesh."

Aleksandr's eyes un-narrowed, but only a little bit. He was obviously still not trusting Wally's story. Finally, he asked, "If you are truly Falcon, then tell me speedster, what did you accept as payment for saving Her Majesty's life with the heart transplant?"

Wally's eyebrows scrunched together and he threw out, slightly miffed, "I didn't take any sort of payment. I didn't need payment for saving a little girl's life, Queen or not. She did, however, offer me Count Vertigo's sword, which I said no to. I ended up keeping the container that had held her heart."

Somehow, that seemed to prove something to Aleksandr because his eyes started to water slightly and he let his hand fall away from the knives before he stood and engulfed Wally in a hug, "It is you, Falcon! I did not wish to believe my eyes, convinced that you were some sort of phantom conjured by stress, but then you caught the bullets and I didn't know what to think. I am endlessly glad that you are alive and well. We must alert Her Majesty!"

"That's kind of what I was here for, Alek. But no one else can know. Please." Wally grinned wryly. Aleksandr grinned back before telling him to wait there and then going off to announce to the guards that someone would be having a private meeting with the queen and that they were dismissed for the time being. Wally could hear it all, but he figured that Aleksandr didn't know that. Moments later, the man was back in the room, ushering Wally forward and shoving him into Queen Perdita's chamber unceremoniously.

Wally almost tripped it, stumbling for a little bit before regaining his position. Then he looked up and realized that the queen was staring straight at him. Flushing a little, Wally immediately fell to one knee, head tilted downwards subserviently, "My Queen."

"Look at me." Queen Perdita commanded, her voice wavering slightly. While she looked at him, Wally looked at her. She was a beautiful teenage girl. She was fifteen, maybe sixteen years old now and had long blonde hair that could rival Artemis's. Her eyes were as emerald green as his own and her face was wide and open. She was dressed in a gown meant to be worn only in her own chambers for comfort and her crown was resting delicately on a cushion beside her hand. She was sitting in her desk chair as if it were a throne. She was tall now, taller than she was before. Her voice still wavered when she demanded, "What is the meaning of this? Tell me."

"My queen, it is I, Sir Falcon. I came as soon as I could. I was not actually killed in battle. I was transported to another dimension where I was stuck for a long, long time." Wally responded, looking up at her through his goggles.

Aleksandr's voice came from slightly behind them, "It is true, your Majesty. He is truly Falcon. I will leave the two of you together now and will wait outside."

Queen Perdita's eyes grew wide, glistening with tears, "You're alive? You're really, really alive?"

"I am." Wally said, smiling. This was the queen he knew.

Perdita flew off the chair and pulled Wally into a hug, burying her face in his chest and weeping. He comforted her, cradling her in his arms. She was kind of like an amazing younger sister. He would protect her any way she wished and today it was emotional protection she craved.

Eventually, the tears tapered off and Perdita sat back, arranging her gown so it wouldn't be quite as uncivilized. She beamed at him, "You must tell me everything. Well, everything you can at least."

Wally hesitated for a moment, but he'd already made this decision. He was just scared anyways. He always was when something like this came up. Smiling, he said, "I mean to tell you everything, if you're willing to listen." For a moment, her face scrunched up in confusion, but then her eyes were widening in understanding and she nodded. Wally smiled again and said, "It's a long story, but I'll start with this, my name is Wally West-Wayne. I'm sure you've heard of me. Apparently news of his death spread almost as wide as news of Falcon's death. I'll start my story from the beginning. My parents were Rudolph and Mary West…"

It took him hours to tell his story, but Queen Perdita was an attentive listener, going through even the most horrific parts and encouraging him to continue. He gave her as much information as he could without implicating others and he went from his birth all the way to when he came home from his trans-dimensional trips.

Queen Perdita looked at him and said seriously, "I am even more glad now that I knighted you. You are truly a wonderful warrior and a great man, Wally West-Wayne. Please remember that you are welcome here anytime you wish. You will be making your comeback as Kid Flash soon, correct?" He nodded and she continued, "Then I will change our day of national mourning to one of celebration for the return of our beloved hero. You will also have control of your lands transferred back to you once the world knows of your return, my knight in shining armor."

Wally took her hand and kissed it, grinning at her as she blushed, "I will serve you until the ends of time, my lady."


	6. Double Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Peter, Gwen, Wally, and Artemis double date (idea by Guestz)

GGGGGG

Gwen nervously fluttered her hands over her dress, smoothing the material in some places and then just wrinkling it in others. Her nose crinkled in distress. She was such a mess! And today of all days!

A hand gently fell on top of hers, resting there for a moment before tangling lightly in her own and lifting the pair of hands to some slightly chapped lips. Gwen giggled as Peter brushed little kisses along her knuckles. He murmured at her between kisses, "Don't be so nervous. You already know that Wally loves you. I'm sure Artemis will love you too. Apparently she's just as much of a strong, independent woman as you."

Gwen tried to tug her hand away from Peter, but all he succeeded in doing was make him smirk and move on to kissing the tips of her fingers, causing her to giggle, "Stop it, Peter! What if they come in and see us like this?"

"They'll think it's adorable." Peter said before putting on his best puppy dog face, "Because I'm adorable, so everything I do is adorable."

"Uh huh, sure." Gwen responding bobbing her head at him exaggeratedly. Peter leaned forward so their foreheads were together, still gently kissing her fingertips. Gwen blushed and ducked her head down, "What if Wally doesn't like me anymore? He's older now and he can see and he's probably super different. This isn't the same Wally we knew."

"Yes it is the same Wally we knew. Remember that he still had all the same memories from when he was in his regularly aged body and his younger aged body. I've talked to him. He acts just the same – still just as smart and just as childish. And just because he has his eyes working again doesn't mean that he's any different. If anything, it just means that he's happier now. And that's never a bad change for someone. It's going to be alright. Okay?" Peter said, smiling brightly. Gwen felt like she could die in that moment and she'd die happily.

A light cough broke them out of their reverie. Breaking apart and turning to the side revealed a formally dressed couple. The man was a tall, strikingly handsome redhead with pale skin, emerald eyes, freckles, and scars all around his eyes. The woman was a tall, well-built blonde with Asian features and beautiful eyes. The two made a startlingly flawless couple, both beautiful in their own rights, but somehow even more beautiful together. Gwen could only hope that people looked at her and Peter and saw that same thing. The man grinned at them and said, "We can wander around for a while if you two need to go to the bathroom or something."

The blonde woman elbowed the man with surprising force, actually doubling him over, before commenting, "Don't be crude. You're so disgusting sometimes."

The ginger chuckled, "Love you too, babe." The blonde rolled her eyes, but she did take the man's hand and she lightly kissed the corner of his mouth.

Peter stood up, pulling Gwen up with him, "Hi, I'm Peter and this is my girlfriend, Gwen. You're Artemis, right?"

The blonde, now identified as Artemis, nodded with a smile and took Peter's proffered hand before taking Gwen's, "Wally's told me a lot about you two. I honestly can't thank you two enough for being there for him when the rest of us… couldn't. We're all beyond grateful that you guys were there for him. He certainly needs a handler."

Wally gave his girlfriend (wait, no, fiancé; Gwen remembered Peter gushing about it when he'd found out they were engaged now) a mock glare, "Says the one who started using a different weapon and got an entirely new outfit."

"Oh, I'm the only one who got an entirely new outfit?" Artemis arched an eyebrow at him. Gwen liked her already. While the two were bickering, they settled seamlessly into their side of the booth at the fancy restaurant that Wally had been more than willing to pay for.

The sheepish smile Wally sent his fiancé was so full of love that Gwen's heart ached at the thought that the two of them were ever separated. Wally defended, "Yeah, so I got a new outfit. I didn't start using a new weapon though."

"The weapon doesn't matter." Artemis argued.

"Uh, it does for you. You are literally named after the goddess of the hunt who was known for her skills with the bow and arrow. You were the archer of the Team. You were the emerald archer's sidekick. And then you started using a sword. There's something wrong with that." Wally said, attempting to give her a 'take that' look, but it melted into something a lot softer within seconds.

Finally, Artemis turned to face Gwen and Peter, "I'm sorry about him. The man can't stop talking to save his life. And I mean that very literally. Anyways, Wally hasn't been back nearly long enough to tell me everything about you two, so, please tell me about yourselves. What are you hobbies? I heard you like science? I'm not very good at that particular subject, so I probably won't understand a thing."

"Oh yes, we both love science very much. Wally, Peter, and I were all interned at different science corporations actually. I mean, debate is fascinating too. I'm interested in going into something that focuses on debate, like a lawyer or something similar. But science has so many options too. But, um, yes. We both like science." Gwen said, stuttering a bit at the end and blushing a little.

Artemis leaned towards her almost conspiratorially, "Let me guess, Peter tells you science puns to flirt with you."

Gwen outright laughed at that, throwing back her head and holding her stomach. The laugh dissolved into little snorts that made her blush even harder before she said, "All the time. I'm guessing Wally does the same?"

"You wouldn't believe. So, we hadn't seen each other in months and I thought he was dead and it was all a mess, right? The first thing he does is, well, actually the first thing he did was ask about the dog. Weirdo. But then he tells me that kissing reduces cortisol levels or something and high cortisol levels means I was stressed and that he'd help me become not stressed when he came back or something like that. Literally the second thing he says when we finally get to talk to each other after months." Artemis shared, but the hand she had tightly gripping Wally's made Gwen think that maybe she wasn't nearly as exasperated as she pretended to be.

Wally made this weird little squawking noise and said indignantly, "You totally botched the delivery of that." He turned to the other couple and said earnestly, "It was much more romantic when I said it."

"Are you saying I'm not romantic enough?" Artemis inquired archly.

"Well, I wasn't saying that, but if you were…" Wally trailed off at Artemis's incredulous eyebrow before chuckling weakly, "Hehe… that was a joke?"

Peter burst out laughing, "I know that Wally said you two were like this, but wow. And you've always been like this? How have you not killed each other by now?"

"Oh she tried. She tried rather hard." Wally said.

Artemis threw up her hands, "It was the one time and we had no memory of each other! I feel completely justified for thinking that I had been sent there to kill you!"

"Uh huh. Sure. It's fine. Whatever." Wally said before pecking Artemis on the cheek.

Gwen couldn't help the way her heart swelled as she watched the two of them. Her eyes were bright and she squeezed Peter's hand. Artemis really was everything that Wally had always made her out to be. And it was so obvious to see that the two of them had so much love for each other. That love had spanned across dimensions and assumed death and it was just so romantic and heartbreaking. Honestly, the picture of these two people who were so in love gave Gwen hope for the future. The two had started dating when Artemis was fifteen and Wally was thirteen and they were still going strong – engaged even. If they could do it, then Gwen and Peter could to. Looking over at her boyfriend, Gwen could tell that Peter thought the same thing. It would all work out perfectly.


	7. Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Wally hears about Gwen's death and is upset because he wasn't there to help (idea by Kafoomph)

PPPPPP

Peter stared listlessly at the spread of pictures on the wall opposite him. There was a dazzling array of angels staring back at him with crinkled noses and golden blonde hair and shining intelligent eyes. It was the same angel captured in the frame of a picture time and time again. For some reason, that angel continued to be seen with the weird, nerdy, scrawny science geek Peter Parker. But that angel hadn't ever cared that no one else liked Peter. It had never stopped her from loving him. It had never stopped her from being destroyed by him.

Each picture flashed memories at him:

Peter and Gwen went to the fair for the first time. Gwen had seen that one of the fair stalls had a game where you could win a plush Spiderman doll. She'd begged him to come win it for her, claiming that they weren't leaving until he won it for her. She had laughed the entire time he readied the dart, muttering angle calculations and adjusting his hand accordingly. He won the doll on his first try. They got a passerby to take a picture of the two of them with the Spiderman doll snuggled in Gwen's arm.

Peter and Gwen were studying for a math test. All Peter wanted to do was kiss his girlfriend senseless and cuddle up with her with a movie for the rest of the night. But Gwen was determined to make sure that Peter used his rare free time to study for at least one of his tests. He grouched and grumbled about it, but he was secretly just pleased that he got a chance to be with his girlfriend for an extended period of time. Plus, Aunt May had cooked them some delicious cookies, so it wasn't all as bad as he complained it was. That didn't stop him from falling asleep into his text book, half a cookie in his outstretched hand and Gwen's own hand trapped in his other. Aunt May had sneakily taken a picture of Gwen staring fondly at Peter's sleeping form.

Peter and Gwen were going to a museum with Wally. The speedster was excitedly listening to an audio tour of the place since he couldn't actually see any of it and none of the plaques had brail translations. He hadn't seemed too put out by it, though, skipping ahead and turning his head this way and that. Gwen and Peter had followed behind like indulgent parents. When Wally had stopped at the dinosaur skeleton, laughing uncontrollably at it (he'd mentioned something about it reminding him of home), Peter had grabbed Gwen into his side and directed her so she was staring at Wally with bemusement while he shrugged his shoulders and mocked an expression of defeat. He quickly snapped the selfie before Wally could object.

Peter and Gwen were at a science exhibition with their respective companies. Gwen had on her Oscorp lab coat and Peter had on his Stark Industries one. The booths were located right across from each other and both stretched a large portion of the 'lane' they'd been designated. The other interns for both groups were glaring daggers at each other, and Peter and Gwen tried to mimic them, but kept sending each other secret smiles and bursting into laughter. Finally, Tony got tired of them trying to act like rivals and instead dragged Peter over to Gwen, pretending to inspect the Oscorp goods. He distracted all the other interns with his usual boisterous flair. Bruce was kind enough to take a picture of Gwen and Peter stood directly between the two displays.

Peter flung a hand over his face, stopping the images from pouring in. But when he closed his eyes, a different sort of memory crowded in:

Gwen was falling. Her eyes were huge and wide in her face, reflecting an all-consuming terror that was quickly starting to take over Peter's soul too. Her clothes whipped around her and her limbs flailed around her. Peter's web was flying through the air, but it wasn't close enough. It wasn't going to catch her. She was going to die! Peter wasn't going to be able to save her! But then the web caught. Peter felt a huge jerk on his arm and quickly tied off the web, sliding down the rest of the building towards his love. What he saw when he got there destroyed any hope that had blossomed. That wasn't his love anymore. That was an empty shell. He hadn't saved her. He'd caught her wrong with his web. He'd killed her. He'd killed her by not being good enough. He'd killed her by just knowing her. He'd broken his promise to her father. He'd pulled her into his dangerous, horrible world and he'd destroyed her. She was his light and his love and he'd taken it and smashed it into the dark, dirty ground. His horrible, inhuman darkness has destroyed one of the only good things in his world.

A knock on his door shattered the memory, leaving only the cold numbness that had been pervading his every move for the days since Gwen's death. He didn't answer. He couldn't bring himself to. He knew that he was hurting Aunt May with his silence, but he also knew that she understood his pain far too well. She would give him everything he needed like he tried to do for her when she lost the one she loved. Peter really was cursed, wasn't he? His dad. His mom. Uncle Ben. Gwen. Who else would he lose?

His thoughts were once again interrupted, but by a different sound this time. Instead of knocking, there was a steady buzzing sound. Finally lifting the hand from his face, Peter stared emotionlessly at the door to his room. There was a person shaped blur outlined in his door. The blur gained dimension and color as time went on before there was a man standing at his door. Peter still couldn't bring himself to react.

He simply turned dead eyes onto the form of his best friend, Wally. Peter wasn't sure if he was gratified or upset to see that same dead expression in Wally's eyes. He knew that Wally had lost Gwen too. Peter turned his face away from those emerald green eyes, physically curling his body inwards and just staring at his knees.

Wally didn't say anything; he didn't have to. He just sat next to Peter on the small bed and leaned up against the wall, staring up at the glow in the dark stars that Gwen had mercilessly teased him about but had one day secretly admitted that she loved.

Silence stretched for a long time and Peter slowly started to uncurl. When he finally leaned back against the wall to join Wally in staring up at the ceiling, Wally spoke, "I've always wondered what glow in the dark stars looked like."

Peter shrugged one shoulder, "It's nothing much to look at." Maybe he would tear them down. He didn't deserve anything in his room that Gwen loved. He wouldn't taint her memory by holding onto something that she loved. He wouldn't plunge her further into the darkness that had taken over his world.

"I'm sorry." Wally announced suddenly. Peter could hear tears in his voice.

It pulled tears into Peter's own eyes (he'd cried and cried and screamed the night that she died, but he hadn't been able to muster up another tear since then; he'd thought that he'd run out) as he accused, "I thought you said that apologizing for someone's loss was awful because it didn't mean anything since it wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault, though." Wally ground out, breath catching on a small cry.

For the first time since her death, Peter startled, turning to stare at Wally directly, "What?"

"It was my fault. I should have been here for you guys. I should have been here to help you with the Green Goblin. I left you here alone and Gwen… Gwen died because I left you guys behind. Because I was selfish." Wally's voice was laced with a level of self-hatred that Peter had only ever seen in himself before. Most would think that being a teenaged hero was awesome. They didn't know the horrors that tore at your soul until there was nothing left. They didn't know everything you lost.

Peter moved to lean against Wally, "No one even told you that anything was going on. There was nothing to tell you that something was going to go wrong. You can't save all of us all of the time. Communication isn't all that fast between the dimensions anyways. You can't blame yourself for every problem we face here while you're over there. And vice versa too. You're already doing so, so much."

Wally shook his head and smiled bitterly, something dark hiding at the edges, "I'll let you know when I can finally convince myself that that's the truth." He paused for a long moment before turning back to look at Peter, green eyes gazing over every part of Peter's face, as if to memorize it, but Peter knew that he'd memorized it the first time he saw it. Wally spoke again, something softer, but just as bitter in his voice, "I don't suppose I can convince you that it wasn't your fault either?" Peter shook his head no. Wally's laugh was sad, but not surprised when he responded, "Yeah, I figured. I figured."

The two sat there for a long time, reflecting on those they'd lost. Eventually, Peter asked quietly, "Do you ever feel cursed?"

Wally's voice was serious when he answered, "There are so many days when I feel like getting struck by lightning was a curse. Sure, it saved me from my parents and it gave me freedom that I hadn't even been able to dream of before. But, at the same time, it took me away from my parents and pushed me into a world of darkness without a guiding light or any sort of structure. My parents had always made my place in the world absolutely obvious. It might not have been a good place, but there I understood. I had rules and I knew what was my fault and how to stop it from happening and I had structure. Then the lightning struck. Every death I couldn't prevent in Gotham. Every friend who was killed in battle. Every time my family argued and separated for days – sometimes weeks. Every crime I couldn't prevent. Every person I watched succumb to the darkness that follows heroes religiously. Every single bad thing that happened. I didn't have the same structure, so I wasn't sure what was my fault. I just assumed it was all my fault. Why would I assume it wasn't? My father had always made sure that I knew just how useless I was. So it must have been my fault. I don't think I ever grew out of that way of thinking. So, yeah, I feel cursed. The lightning threw me into this world and cursed me all at once. But without it… there are so many of us – heroes – who would amount to nothing without this world. There are so many of us who would have gone down the opposite path without the job of being a hero."

Peter closed his eyes, a single tear slipping out, his throat tightening, "Do you think it'll ever stop hurting? Do you think being a hero will ever stop tearing us apart inside?"

"I work with a lot of heroes who have been doing this job for a long, long time. Grandpa Jay's been doing it since World War II." Wally mused, his voice flat and broken, "I don't think it ever stop breaking us down."

"I… I'm not sure if I want to keep doing this, Wally." Peter admitted quietly.

Wally's face twisted a little bit, "I understand wanting to stop. I understand wanting to take a break. Life doesn't stop for you and sometimes being a hero on top of normal life is too much work. The lies, the responsibilities, the crumbling relationships. It all adds up and sometimes you just have to… stop. But don't stop because being a hero hurts. Don't stop because you see all the horrors that the world has to offer. Don't stop because you don't think you're good enough to stop that much bad. You have the power, Peter, so you have the responsibility. The good we do – the people we save – that makes up for the darkness that stains our souls. The bad people we get off the streets makes up for the horrible things we see. If the good doesn't outweigh the bad at the end of the day, then you're doing something wrong. There is a seed of goodness in every person, in everything. Don't let the forest of badness overtake that single seed."

They were silent again until Wally asked, "Are you still going to stop, or take a break?"

"I don't know." Peter said. He really didn't. He had a lot to think about and, right now, Gwen was too firmly rooted in his mind for him to think about anything else.

Wally answered easily, "That's okay."

They spent the rest of the night staring up at the small glowing pinpoints of starlight on Peter's ceiling.


	8. Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Robin Robin Batman game by Thine_Everlasting

BBBBBB

Batman was honestly just confused. He could say with complete accuracy that he didn't think he'd been this confused in a long time.

After the confusion settled a little bit, resignation and regret hit. Why? Why did he make this decision? Why had he thought that leaving them with Green Arrow of all people would be even the slightest bit intelligent? Right, he was the only one available. Batman thought back through the events of the day, wondering if there had been any other option.

It had been one of the incredibly rare (incredibly terrifying) moments where the Team felt like they were in enough danger that they needed to call on the Justice League to help them get out of it. Even from the beginning of their time as a Team together, they avoided calling the League until they were literally dying. Teaching the kids how to accept help had been one of the hardest lessons. It was almost too late before they learned that one, but it had worked out. No one had died at the very least. And now they knew that when things got bad, they needed to call someone in to help them.

Despite understanding that, the Team was actually quite skilled. They worked hard and they did well and there were few enemies that they faced that they couldn't take on their own. It made Batman incredibly proud to know that two of his sons were two of the three who had started this powerful, amazing group. He resolutely ignored the voice in the back of his head that reminded him of how mad he had been when he'd heard that they'd gone into Cadmus without telling the League.

So, the fact that they were calling on the League now was intensely worrying. How hurt were they? How much danger were they in? Were they dead? Dying? Captured? How many enemies were surrounding them? Were his sons okay?

Aqualad – the one who'd made the call – hadn't been able to impart much information before he'd cried out and the communications device had fallen from his hand to slam in a loud, sharp, staticky burst against the ground. Aquaman had been beyond worried as the members of the League with kids on the Team flew out to the location that the trackers placed the Team at. Batman just hoped that they were still with the trackers. His mind, dark and pessimistic from a lifetime living in Gotham, conjured tens of different, equally horrible, scenarios for the young members of the Team.

The sight that awaited him at the location of the trackers, however, was not something that he could have prepared for. On the plus side, there weren't any visible enemies around and there seemed to be no immediate danger. On the other side, though, there was the state of the members of the Team.

Batman's eyes widened and he felt his knees go weak. Wonder Woman gasped, hand going to gently cup against Cassie's hair, "How… how did this happen?"

Superman had stumbled back from Superboy, fists clenched, "I didn't… I don't…"

Flash's hand was held over his mouth and he looked like he didn't know if he should go to Wally or Bart first. He swallowed audibly and said, "What are we going to tell their parents? How can we explain this?"

It was, of course, Green Arrow who broke the horror of the moment. He squatted down next to Artemis and cooed, "They're so cute!"

"Cute?" Black Canary choked out, sounding strangled, "How is this cute? This is horrifying! I had enough trouble dealing with Red Arrow as a kid! The entire Team has been de-aged! Do you know how horrible that's going to be to work with? I love kids and this is going to be horrible!"

Batman massaged a sore part of his temple, eyes closing and breath whooshing out through his nose, "We can only hope that they remember at least some of us when they wake up."

"What do you mean?" Flash asked, horrified, from where he was kneeling next to Bart.

"Think about it." Batman snapped, patience wearing thin from the situation, "They've been de-aged. That likely means that their memories are gone too. I'm guessing that each of them are eight or so. Impulse will have no recollection of coming to the past. He's going to be incredibly confused. Robin will speak limited English and won't trust strangers. Kid Flash will struggle with trusting adults. Artemis will be violent as she will likely believe that this is a test of her father's. Superboy and Miss Martian are going to be inconsolably confused with the situation they are in. Beast Boy will want to know where his mother is. If they don't remember enough about us, then there's little chance of us getting them to stay together and cooperative enough for us to figure out to reverse whatever happened to them."

Aquaman, cradling Kaldur like something precious, said affirmatively, "We will bring them back to the Cave before discussing this further. Here is not a safe place to have such sensitive conversations."

Everyone nodded before heading off to their respective kids. Batman gathered Robin in one arm and Kid Flash in the other, marveling at the strange experience of being able to hold his kids like this again. It had been a long time since his youngest – Wally – had been young enough to be held like this. Honestly, Wally had never really been able to be held like this, but there were situations where the streets of Gotham had offered no other way of getting Wally home than by cradling his unresponsive form back to the Batmobile.

The ride back to the cave had been filled with the dark, tense fear of worried, angry parents, but it had been silent at the same time. Everyone had been too concerned with making sure that their kids were there and breathing and alive that they couldn't find it in themselves to keep conversation. Even Flash had settled himself next to Batman, keeping one hand on Bart's head and the other on Wally's shoulder, fingers light but jaw clenched with a tight, coiled anger.

When the group finally did arrive at the Cave, it didn't take long for everyone to drop their charges off in the infirmary. Doctor Midnight had already been called and he waited there, already started to run tests on the gathered group of de-aged superheroes.

The mentors hovered anxiously, pestering him with questions and worrying over every little thing he did to the kids. When the call came, his expression could only have been described as desperately thankful. The mentors weren't as happy. Apparently there were several very bad things happening all over.

Batman growled, "One of us needs to stay with the kids."

"I'll do it!" Green Arrow volunteered cheerfully, the only one unaffected by the situation, "I'm good with kids."

"Kids run from you screaming." Black Canary reminded him bluntly. He pouted at her.

Batman glanced around at the other heroes gathered there. Slowly, all of them shook their heads, indicating that they were needed somewhere or that they wouldn't be a good fit with the children. Eventually, Batman realized that his only choice was to leave the kids in the hands of Green Arrow.

Batman shuddered as he thought over the situation again. He still couldn't believe that had been their only option. And now, now it had come to this.

Gathered in a slightly wobbly circle on the ground of the training room, the children were tensed, faces set in expressions of intense concentration. They narrowed their eyes at each other consideringly, carefully. Artemis crept around the group, eyes just as narrowed and expression just as intense. She was swift and silent in her movements and her muscles were coiled, ready to run.

Batman watched with mounting horror as she passed each person, patting their head and saying, "Robin… robin… robin…. Robin…"

She reached the quiet and slightly timid looking Zatanna. Artemis had slowed slightly, imperceptibly, as she neared the black-haired magic-user. The blow to the back of the head Artemis had delivered as she shouted, "Batman!" and tore off around the circle was quite frankly vicious.

Zatanna rocked forward with the blow for a moment, but she was already getting up anyways, feet tilting slightly as she tried to get her bearings as she ran. The moment Zatanna realized that Artemis was getting too far ahead, Zatanna threw out her hand and yelled, "Pirt no gnihton!"

Batman started moving forward as Artemis pitched forward, Zatanna going for a running leap on her back to keep her down. Carefully, Batman extracted the now glaring girls as the rest of the group cheered on one or the other. Batman was slightly amused to hear Wally cheering for Zatanna. Oh, the irony.

Instead of acting on that urge to laugh, however, Batman glared at the gathered children, getting immediate, whimpering silence in response. He turned that glare onto Green Arrow and intensified it, growling lowly, "What… is this?"

Green Arrow shrugged easily, "Robin, robin, Batman. I was informed that Duck, duck, goose was too boring and that I needed to come up with something better. So Robin, robin, Batman it was. The difference between it and duck, duck, goose isn't just the name. When the two are running around the circle, you can do whatever you want to win. No rules, get to your spot first or take the other person down first. Pretty fun, yeah?"

"You're letting them use their abilities to fight each other?" Batman growled, voice going even lower. Zatanna started crying from where she was dangling in his grip. Superboy got up and punched Batman in the leg, shouting something about how making girls cry was mean and Superman didn't allow mean things so he wouldn't either. Batman was too busy trying not to curse out the kid for using super strength to punch his leg to really pay attention.

Gasping slightly, Batman put Zatanna and Artemis down, turning back to Green Arrow. He was about to say something scathing and threatening, but a small tug on his cape turned him around instead. Batman swallowed, mouth going dry at the sight of his kids, still young and untouched by the cruelty of being superheroes. They had still been put through the cruelty of life, but that was never something that Batman could have stopped.

Dick was all bright eyes and restless energy, rolling his body weight over the balls of his feet and shifting his stance every few moments. Wally was a quiet, small force behind him, hand lightly settled on Robin's elbow, someone's shades settled over his eyes. Batman knew that Robin had probably volunteered to lead the blind stranger around and Wally had been too shy to request a less energetic guide and too terrified of his powers to reveal that he didn't really need a guide anyways. Although, there was always the chance that this age Wally was still too young to have really trained his powers well enough to use them as skillfully as he had when Batman had first met him.

Robin tugged on the cape again, pulling Batman back into reality. Dick's expression was open and slightly impatient as he asked, carefully, English words well known but not used all that often, "When are we going home?"

Batman's expression softened, "As soon as we can get you back, you'll be back." He didn't miss the way Wally's and Artemis's shoulders slumped at the thought of going back 'home'. He said just as softly, "And I promise that everything'll be better, alright?"

Bart scoffed, "You can't promise that. Nothing'll ever be better."

"And how do you know that?" Batman asked, towering back to his usual height.

Bart gulped and back down, but Beast Boy stepped forward instead, "How do you know that?"

"Yeah, explain that one man." Jaime threw out from where he was standing, Miss Martian and Wonder Girl stood behind him, peering over his slightly broader shoulders.

Batman sniffed slightly, a little miffed that all these kids were ganging up on him, "I'm older than you, so I know better."

Green Arrow guffawed from behind him, wheezing out, "You're really pulling the 'older than thou, therefore holier than thou' card? Seriously?" Batman glared at him.

"I don't like you." Rocket suddenly announced, hand on hip and staring intensely at Batman.

"Me neither!" Cassie called out, lip thrust out in a pout.

"You are mean and rude to girls." Aqualad stated calmly, offering no other explanation.

"Plus you make promises you can't keep!" Bart accused.

"Liar!" Beast Boy added.

Jaime shook his head, "Shame on you."

"You're a bully too!" Zatanna shouted, tears still gathered at the edges of her eyes.

"Superman doesn't like bullies." Connor mused before nodding and announcing, "So I don't like you either."

Batman stared at the mutinous group of children in front of him, trying to ignore the sound of Green Arrow laughing behind him. If people were to see just this, they'd never guess that he had many children of his own. It honestly took a rather specific kind of kid to live with Bruce.

Getting over his mirth, Green Arrow called for calm, speaking once silence had fallen, "Alright, alright. That's enough. He's right, though, everything will get better. There will be some rough patches, but it will get better in the long run. Now, can I introduce you to Batman?"

"That's Batman?" Dick asked incredulously, eyeing his guardian dubiously. Green Arrow nodded seriously.

Wally suddenly announced, "I think we need a new game. This one is lame." Batman face-palmed.


	9. Swords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Training with the Avengers and pulls out sword (idea by Midpollo)

TTTTTT

Tony would never admit it out loud, but he was glad that the kid was back in their dimension. Getting Wally to come back to Marvel was a harder battle than they'd anticipated. He'd come back, briefly, for a double date. And then again when Peter's girl had died, but he stayed with Peter for a few days and then left. And, yeah, Peter had needed the support – probably still did – but it kind of sucked that Wally hadn't come to see them at all.

Made a man feel unwanted was all Tony was saying.

Still, that didn't matter anymore. Wally was back in the Marvel dimension and he was completely willing to hang out with the Avengers. The whole group had gathered to the Tower for a few days for the sole purpose of hanging out with Wally.

Of course, Steve Stick-up-his-butt Rogers insisted that they needed to keep up with their fitness routine, so there they were. Exercising. At seven in the morning. On a Saturday. When they friend from another dimension had come to visit. Pardon Tony for being a little miffed.

At least Wally hadn't seemed to mind, eyes lighting up in a way that looked so natural and yet so foreign on his formerly blind face. When Steve had commented off-handedly about their 'team decision' to keep their fitness up, Wally had grinned and said, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I joined you guys, then."

Natasha had given him her little frown and said, "It's your vacation. Shouldn't you be relaxing?"

"Criminals aren't going to relax, so neither am I. Steve's right. We can't let ourselves fall apart just because we're hanging out with friends or getting a break from something." Wally had announced cheerfully in return and that had been the end of that.

At the moment, they were taking a breather. The group had a usual pattern of exercises that they did every morning before they took a breather and then the next bit of their morning exercise was spent learning a new skill. They had been working on the most current skill for about two weeks now and they were getting pretty close to being finished with it.

The Avengers never tried to master the skill together. They were taught the basics of it and then they trained those basics to proficiency and ended there. If someone wanted to continue to learn that skill on their own time, then that was their decision. As long as they were proficient, they could probably use the skill to save their own or someone else's life and that was really all they were going for.

When Tony glanced over at the rest of the group, he saw Wally stretched out on the ground, eyes closed and arms above his head. Clint was smirking at him, "So, I might have heard a little rumor from a little green bird who likes to play with arrows. It might have had something to do with a certain group of super-sidekicks being turned into children. Well, more of children than they already were."

Wally groaned dramatically, sliding one eye open to glare quite impressively at Clint. It made Tony fear what a glare from Wally would be like if the kid had used both eyes. Wally sighed and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know. We didn't know that the meta we were going after was going to have the power to de-age us. Freaked me out when I woke up. Had no idea where I was or who the kids I was with were. And yes, before you ask, we did play Robin Robin Batman instead of Duck Duck Goose because we claimed that Duck Duck Goose was too boring for us."

"No way." Tony crowed, delight lighting up his features, "Please tell me there's something else awesome about Robin Robin Batman."

Wally smirked at him, raising an eyebrow at his childish delight. Tony stuck his tongue out at the speedster. Wally rolled his eyes and answered, "Of course there was. We were allowed to use our powers."

Bruce laughed slightly, and Thor boomed, "Please tell me that you dominated your young allies in this noble game of Robin Robin Batman with your superior speed!"

Smirk tilting down a little bit at the edges, Wally shrugged self-consciously and said, "I pretended I didn't have any abilities and couldn't play because I was blind. I wasn't exactly all that fond of my powers back then. It was fun listening to the others play, though. It was also awesome seeing – well, you know what I mean – how the others were like as kids." The group was slightly silent for a moment before Wally laughed brightly, "Although, we're all a little confused as to how Conner was functioning correctly."

"Um, what?" Steve asked, confused.

Wally nodded, "Yeah, so, Conner – Superboy – is a clone of Superman. He's a half-Kryptonian, half-human clone thing. There were these genomorphs that implanted information into him as the scientists were growing him, but they mainly just implanted various fighting techniques and facts about Superman. Basically, they told him anything he needed to know if he were to replace Superman one day, which is why he was created. But we got him out! And we showed him how to be a real person! But when he would have been in the physical form of a young child, he would have not yet had information planted into him. Essentially, he should have been like Frankenstein's monster when it first woke up. Instead, Conner was totally fine. Acted like a normal kid. No clue how to explain that."

Steve blinked at Wally. Wally grinned back. Tony himself was thinking over the situation. In all technicality, Wally was right. Superboy shouldn't have had any legitimate knowledge. Unless the aging process… no, that didn't… maybe if there was… but that protein… Agh. Tony would work it out with Bruce later. He wasn't as good at all the biological stuff anyways.

Rolling his shoulders, Wally bounced up and asked cheerfully, "What are we doing next?"

Natasha muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a death threat because Wally was annoying her with his fast recovery skills. Bruce gave her a concerned glance and edged away slightly. It was Steve who answered, "We take this time to work on a skill, but we might do something different today. We've been working on this skill for almost two weeks and it'd be unfair to throw you into the deep end without that amount of training."

Wally raised a skeptical eyebrow, "I was one of Batman's sidekicks. I know a lot of skills. There's a chance I've at least started learning the one you guys are working on."

Tony raised a skeptical eyebrow right back, "Fat chance, buddy. We've been learning how to fight with swords."

He wasn't prepared for Wally's expression to brighten. The kid up and bounded over to his stuff. He grabbed out that walking cane that he still used despite not being blind. He was back over to the group before anyone could blink. Then he smirked that irritating smirk at them again and twisted the head of the cane just so. Tony was not prepared for a sword to come out of the cane, dragon's wing curling around Wally's hand in a protective grip.

The billionaire certainly wasn't the only one who was staring at Wally in complete shock. What was more impressive than the fact that his cane was a freaking awesome sword in disguise was the fact that Wally was handling the sword like he was completely competent in it, deadly even. Wally laughed, "You guys should see your faces! I did tell you that my aunt is a super high up member of an assassin organization, right?"

Natasha swallowed her shock quite easily and answered evenly, "I do believe you mentioned that at some point."

"Her and her son – my adoptive brother – taught me how to use the sword. Damian was pretty lethal with it and Aunt Thalia certainly wasn't a novice either. I'll probably never get as good as them, but it was fun learning anyways." Wally answered their unspoken question. He could obviously read all of their shock and he thought it was pretty amusing based on the smug expression on his face. He swooshed the sword around him in an obvious display of skill and asked, "So, who's the trainer?"

"That would be I!" Thor exclaimed, expression like an excited puppy, "Although I use my hammer in battle, I have been trained with a variety of weapons, including the sword! I can tell that you are skilled with your weapon. I humbly request a battle between us! We shall see who the more skilled wielder of the sword is!"

Wally's expression quickly moved from smug to panicked. He chuckled lightly, moving slightly away, "Haha, yeah, that'd be great, Thor, but I really don't think that I'll really be any sort of threat. Honestly. I'm not that good."

"Not so cocky now, are we, kid?" Clint smirked.

Wally gave him an incredulous look and hissed, "You wouldn't be either if you had a, what? 300-pound demigod challenging you to a sword battle! Did I mention that he was a demigod? Or the fact that he's centuries older than me? Because he is. He's going to kill me!"

"Sure, he's not!" Steve said encouragingly, pushing Wally out towards Thor, who was doing his best impression of a kicked puppy. Steve grinned at Thor and said, "Wally would be happy to battle you, Thor!" Steve then promptly used all of his super strength to shove Wally into the ring where Thor was waiting joyously.

Tony was impressed. Steve had a mischievous streak after all.

Wally looked like a kicked puppy and Tony was certain that if he had a dog's expressive ears, then they'd be drooping pitifully right about now.

But then Thor launched straight into the battle and there was no way that Tony would ever compare Wally to a puppy again.

The kid was dangerous with that sword. Tony felt his eyes widen and his mouth fall open, hand slipping to his side.

He could tell that Wally was pointedly not using his powers, only fighting sword to sword, but that hardly mattered. Wally was still incredibly swift, able to use his smaller and slighter body to dip and dodge out of the way of Thor's huge swings. The speedster wasn't just using his sword as an offensive weapon; he was using it as defense and as a prop to launch himself over a low swinging sword strike. He was using it to give himself extra weight on one side, so his spin would be faster in order to avoid another strike.

It was mesmerizing to watch. It was dangerous and powerful, and it reminded Tony of a venomous snake dancing around its prey. It was easy to tell that the people who had trained him were assassins. He stepped the same deadly graceful steps that Tony saw in Natasha on a daily basis. Natasha must have seen the same thing because there was something painfully open in her expression as she leaned slightly forward and watched Wally fight.

His expression was blank and focused in a way that they almost never saw Wally. He was open and cheerful and light and joy and this was something else. This was death and fear and pain and tightly controlled danger.

It was as terrifying as it was amazing.

In the end, though, centuries of training won out over assassin teachers. Thor beat Wally rather easily. The entire battle hadn't even taken that long, even though it'd felt like a lifetime watching Wally transform into his shadow version.

When Wally and Thor came back to them, Wally was panting, "You have no idea how hard it is to not use your speed when there's a sword hurtling towards your face."

For a second, no one reacted, and Wally tilted his head at them curiously. Then Tony blew out a breath and clapped Wally on his shoulder, "Kid. You don't know how happy I am that you're on our side."

Everyone cracked up at that, Wally's eyebrows coming together slightly as if he truly didn't understand why Tony had said that. A quick glance around the room, though, told Tony that everyone else understood. Wally was dangerous. But at the same time, he could never really be dangerous because he was too good, too pure to be dangerous. He would never be evil.


End file.
